Land of confusion
by Misura
Summary: Schuldich has a debt to settle with some people from Nagi's past. [Schuldich x Nagi][songfic]
1. Farfarello

Land of confusion

__

Farfarello

Warnings/notes : Schuldich x Nagi, violence, death [not of anyone important], Farfarello pov

Disclaimer : I don't own Weiss Kreuz. The song 'Land of confusion' belongs to Genesis. Lyrics slightly altered. 

written at 8th april 2003, by Misura

part 1 of 5 (next part will be other pov, ongoing plot)

**********

__

//I must have dreamed a thousand dreams,

been haunted by a million screams.//

As soon as I get out of the car, I feel excitement rushing through my veins. I know what we're here for, know that tonight will be different from any night before, from any night coming after this one. 

Schuldich sharply tells me to wait, but I don't want to. Before he can stop me, I'm already haflway to the building. It looks rather ordinary ; on a normal day you could walk past it and never suspect its contents weren't the same as every other deserted shack in this neighborhood.

I hear Schuldich mutter as he runs after me. Without using his special powers of speed though. He's not stupid, our telepath. He knows what I can do. 

: Remember ; their leader is mine. You can have all the others, but that one's mine. :

We've gone over that so often I don't even bother to respond. And I don't care, really. Someone to kill is someone to kill. The more the better.

Tonight should be fun.

//I can hear the marching feet,

they're moving into the street.//

I kick in the door, to surprise two guards. They call themselves 'guards' anyway. To me, the term 'idiots' or 'losers' comes to mind. Really, they're pathetic.

I'm onto them before they can even touch their guns. Maybe Schu can use the extra munition ; depends on what exactly he plans to do to their chief. He hasn't told me, just promised I could watch.

Bet it's going to be something painful. Schuldich can have a big mouth at times, he also has a small heart. Very few people fit into there, but Nagi found a place there.

Surprised all of us, even Crawford I think.

Anyway, these guys have hurt Nagi. A long time ago, true, and maybe not all of them were involved in it, but still ... they are guilty. They have sinned and we will punish them. No one touches one of us, one of Schwarz and gets away with it.

//Now did you read the news today ?

They say the danger's gone away.//

I'd never thought I'd style myself as some avenging messenger of death. That sort of stuff is more fitting for the likes of Weiss. Justice means nothing to me.

This is all about revenge I guess. For Schuldich at least. To me, any reason to kill is fine.

Feels sort of different though, knowing I'm slashing through people God probably wouldn't like either. It should make me feel bad, doing something that good. It doesn't though.

I enjoy every slash, every choking, gorgling cry.

Blood never tasted so sweet or looked so pretty, running in a small stream over the floor.

The light never reflected so beautiful on the silver blades of my knifes, wiped clean after every kill. Wouldn't want them to go rusty after all. 

I do this for Nagi, for revenge, for Schuldich and it never ever felt this good, this intense.

//But I can see the fire's still alight

burning into the night.//

Another door. The room behind it looks like some kind of office, lots of papers lying around. One guy in here, who holds -ooh, I'm scared- a gun. He's not the one I'm supposed to spare for Schuldich, so that's fine.

"What - who are you? What do you want?" Can't he guess? Does he think he can stop me?

"The first doesn't matter to you." I reply, slowly starting to smile, "and as to the second, well, I'm here to end your life. As should be obvious." How often does he face a person holding a knife storming in here? What does he think I'm here for, to come and let myself get killed by him?

"I have powerful friends." he says. He begins to look scared. My smile seems to have that effect on most people, though really, I don't know why. "Rich ones too." he adds.

"Good for you." I reply, grinning. "I'm sure they'll give you a nice funeral."

Idiot. He tries to shoot me. I make sure not to harm his face, so that his 'friends' will be able to recognize him. Call it a small act of mercy, if you want to. It was some fun to talk to him after all.

//There's too many men 

too many people

making too many problems,//

More people, more blood. Schu asks me to come to a room at the other end of the building, where the person we're here for seems to be hiding behind a group of his so called guards.

Considerate of him to ask and wait for me.

As I reach the location I notice a smear of red on his cheek. I look at him questioningly.

He shrugs. "One of them was faster than I had thought he'd be. It's nothing. Barely a scratch. You didn't have any problems, I suppose."

I smile. "Of course not. They were all easy like lambs." Schuldich returns my smile, matching the bloodthirst in it. I'm glad I never tried anything against Nagi. I would hate to face Schuldich when he's like this. Not many things scare me but at the moment Schu is one of them.

He nods. I wonder if he heard me thinking about him. "Let's go in then. And remember ... "

"... the leader is yours. Yes, I know."

As soon as I cross the threshold, I feel something wild and raging break loose in me. I think I mentioned already things felt different tonight, this is one of those things.

I hear someone laughing, nearly cackling like a madman, and I know it's me.

In the end there aren't nearly enough of them to satisfy the hunger and thirsting inside of me. But our purpose has been fulfilled ; kneeling in front of Schuldich is the man we came here for.

//And not much love to go around//.

"One wrong movement ...." Schuldich whispers, not finishing the threat. He doesn't have to. The man nods eagerly. Does he really think he has any chance of leaving this room alive?

Schuldich seems to be nearly choking with anger. Hatred burns in his eyes. His victim to be shivers. With good reason, I'd say. Those jade eyes are nearly enough to drive even me out of the room, and I'm not even the one they're focused on.

"Please. I can pay you. A lot. You could have anything you wanted. Just. Please." So easily reduced to begging. It's almost boring. I wait for Schuldich to do something.

He stands silently, like a statue. Looking down on what's crawling at his feet. He makes a sound, two syllables long, more I can't hear. His voice is too soft. I had expected him to shout. 

//Can't you see, this is a land of confusion ?//

Schuldich, usually so loud and now so quiet. It's creepy. I want to get this over with, get out of here, back home, before Crawford notices we're gone and gives us hell when we return.

Still holding his gun with his right hand, his left disappears in his pocket, drawing out a photograph. He waves it in front of our prisoner's face, allowing me to see it as well.

It's a picture of a boy with dark-blue eyes, smiling happily into the camera. A picture of Nagi, our beloved lost child who is no longer a child. Schuldich's lover, the first one to capture his heart.

"Do you recognize this boy?" Schuldich asks, sounding almost friendly. I'm not fooled though and neither is his victim. I can see him digging in his memory. In vain.

"N-no?" 

Beep. Wrong answer. You loose, and guess what? You were playing for your life. Too bad. 

//This is the world we live in,

and these are the hands we're given.//

"His name is Nagi Naoe." Schuldich remarks, in a confiding tone, as if he and that guy are sharing a secret. He even bends over to him a bit. "He lived on the 14th floor of a flat in Tokyo, five years ago with his parents and a small, white dog called Snoopy."

Even I didn't know about the dog. Maybe a replacement would make a nice birthdaypresent.

"Now do you remember?" Schuldich croons.

"M-maybe. I'm not sure." I can smell the lie. And the fear. Bitter and sweet.

A hand grips his chin, raising up his face.

"I will make you remember. Every second of it." Schuldich says smilingly. If I look even half as scary as he does when doing that, I'm not surprised people don't feel at ease when I smile.

There's a rush of power. I can feel it through my mindlink with Schuldich, though I have no idea what exactly he's doing. It's malicious. Deliciously malicious.

//Use them and let's start trying

to make it a place worth living in//

Shoving him back, Schuldich turns his back on our prisoner. Who has started screaming. In a rather high-pitched voice that nearly hurts my ears (let me assure you that an immunity to physical pain does not include any protection of your hearing).

"Shall we go? I'm finished here." Schuldich asks conversationally.

I grin. Schuldich's back to normal again and the bad guys are dead. All in all a good evening.

"Let's." I reply. "Want me to cut his throat?"

He shakes his head. "No need. He'll die of his own. Eventually."

I take another look. The man is reduced to sobbing by now.

"What did you do to him?" I'm curious.

"I'll tell you on the ride home."

~tbc~


	2. Schuldich

Land of confusion

__

Schuldich

Warnings/notes : Schuldich x Nagi, violence, death [not of anyone important], Schuldich pov

Disclaimer : I don't own Weiss Kreuz. The song 'Land of confusion' belongs to Genesis. Lyrics slightly altered. 

written at 8th april 2003, by Misura

part 2 of 5 (next part will be other pov, ongoing plot)

**********

__

//Hey, Superman, where are you now,

when everything's gone wrong somehow ?//

Looking down on the human figure in front of me I feel an overwhelming repulsion. He is less than nothing and yet he harmed someone I love so badly. It shouldn't have been allowed to happen ; there should be a higher power to prevent things like that.

It was before Schwarz, I know, and there was no way I could have known. And four years ago, what would I have cared about a boy named Nagi? An ordinary boy, who proved himself not quite so ordinary in the end?

If I had walked past this building at that time, had noticed what was going on in here, I wouldn't have done a thing. Might have shaken my head, might have laughed a bit even.

I definitely wouldn't have stormed in to rescue him. It's the way of the world not to care. Because it's of no use to anyone. One man can't change the world. If you try, you'll only get yourself hurt. If you don't try, you may still get hurt, that's bad enough. Why ask for more?

There is no such thing as justice. There is only us, you and me. No heroes. Plenty of villains to pick on you and take away what you care about though. I know. I'm one of them now.

//The men of steel, men of power

are losing control by the hour.//

Life is not like a serie on TV. Bad people get rich, while good people get killed. But this once, I have delivered justice. I have served the powers of good, that don't exist.

Let Estet babble on about their great Master, representing the powers of evil, I don't believe in him either. There's no such thing as higher powers that try to get us to serve them. Everyone does what he pleases or, more often, what someone else makes him do.

Even me. 

Farfarello looks worried again, because time is passing and the odds of Crawford discovering what we have been doing grows every second. I don't care right now.

Would he tell Nagi too? I know my lover wouldn't like what I have been up to this night. Not for any care about the scum at my feet, but for a certain desperate desire to forget the past, rather than facing it again.

I want to spare him that. Dead people don't show up again to bother you. Even if the Nagi of the present could easily take them down. 

//This is the time, this is the place.

So we look for the future.//

"Shall we go? I'm finished here." I ask Farfarello.

He grins. No doubt he has found the evening ... entertaining. And I too am satisfied.

"Let's. Want me to cut his throat?" he offers, gleeful at the prospect.

I shake my head. "No need. He'll die of his own. Eventually."

Let him suffer a while longer. He deserves it.

"What did you do to him?" Farfarello asks curiously.

"I'll tell you on the ride home." I promise.

//But there's not much love to go around.//

The halls are empty and silent save the sound of our footsteps. I think they will stay that way too. At least for the coming years.

We walk past an open door and Farfarello smiles as if remembering something funny. I look at him curiously, silently asking him what happened in there. He grins.

"There was someone in there."

"You killed him, I suppose?"

A stupid question. 

"Of course, what do you take me for?"

//Tell me why this is a land of confusion ?//

"A lunatic who likes blood and sharp objects." I reply good-naturedly.

He laughs cacklingly. I have never been afraid of him and he knows it.

"That's right." 

Other people look at Farfarello and see what I just called him : a lunatic. But I see more than that. Much more. I'm a telepath, meaning I can see his mind too.

I see his inside as well as his outside. They're not the same.

In Farfarello's mind, all things are either black or white. He's rather like Abyssinian from Weiss in that respect, though neither would thank me for making the comparison.

White is for the angels, whose wings he has to clip, whose purity he has to soil. White is for the enemy, the things he hates. The walls of his prison are white too.

Black is for the night, in whose embrace he sleeps. I am black to his mind's eye and so is the rest of Schwarz and most people we associate with. 

//This is the world we live in,

and these are the hands we're given.//

The people we killed tonight were black also. That's why at first I wasn't sure if I should ask him to come along. Because he might have bolted at the last minute, refusing to harm them.

It would have put me in a nasty situation, even worse than if I would have walked in on my own.

I told him they were criminals. I don't lie to Farfarello ; enough people in his life have done that.

He asked me why I wanted their deaths.

I replied they had harmed Nagi, a long time ago.

He nodded. He understood. And he promised he'd help me.

In his mind, by hurting a member of Schwarz, they had gone from black to white. I have seldom found anyone with so flexible a mind as that ; Abyssinian, for example, would find great difficulty in accepting one of his teammembers to be related to the enemy.

//Use them and let's start trying

to make it a place worth living in// 

Outside, I breathe in the cool, sweet air of the night. It feels good. I want to return home now, to see Nagi, to loose myself in his night-blue eyes and know they'll never be clouded by sadness or fear again. A sound breaks the peace.

A car comes around the corner, screeching to a halt not very far away from us. I recognize it, even before I see the face of the person stepping out.

Crawford.

A second figure steps out, less tall in physique, his presence blazing in my mind.

Nagi.

~tbc~


	3. Nagi

Land of confusion

_Nagi_

Warnings/notes : Schuldich x Nagi, thoughts of the past, Nagi pov, bit of fluff

Disclaimer : I don't own Weiss Kreuz. The song 'Land of confusion' belongs to Genesis. Lyrics slightly altered. 

written at 8th april 2003, by Misura

part 3 of 5 (next part will be other pov, ongoing plot)

_normal italics_ indicate flashbacks

This chapter starts a bit before the ending of the previous one, while Nagi is still at home.

**********

It's been an uneventful afternoon today, the hours creeping past. I'm bored. I guess I could get on-line, look for something to occupy my mind. I'm too lazy.

Crawford, no doubt, would say it's Schuldich's attitude rubbing off on me. 

Frankly, I like that thought. Becoming a little bit more like Schu might not be such a bad thing.

_//I remember long ago// _

When we first met, it was hate at first sight. 

He, a cocky, arrogant, annoying, whining telepath who stuck his nose in everyone's business without the least respect for their privacy.

Me, a shy, hurt, obedient, soft-spoken telekinetic who appreciated having his own personal space and finally had the means to prevent or punish intrusion.

After a week, Crawford told me he knew the fault wasn't mine, but could I please try to get along with Schuldich? For the team's sake? It was a very weird conversation.

I agreed to give it a try. He thanked me solemnly and wished me good luck. 

Some people consider Crawford possessed of a cold personality. They are wrong. 

I will grant you that he's not the person to spontaneously go around to hug people or even smile at them. It's not in his nature. I was thankful for that.

Does it sound odd to you, if I say hugs make me nervous?

Do I sound like a freak when I say I don't like people smiling, because I think that maybe they're laughing at me, rather than to me?

I always felt at ease with Crawford because he did neither of those things. 

_//when the sun was shining,//_

Schuldich on the other hand seemed to have a smile plastered on his face. There was a certain edge to it, a sharpness suggesting his smile was nowhere near benevolently though.

It brought an honesty to it. It told me maybe not everything Schuldich said was a lie or a joke.

The day I knocked on his door was a bright summerday. I still remember it.

I don't know how or why, but the house we lived in was never warm. Even in the heart of summer, its interior remained pleasantly cool.

Yet my face was warm as I waited for him to respond. Sweat ran down my spine, gathered in my palms. I had been on missions for Schwarz, I had killed people by using my Gift.

This was different. This would be difficult.

I had to succeed. If I couldn't clear things between me and Schuldich, I knew Crawford would kick one of us out of the team. And Schuldich had been here before me ...

_//the stars were bright//_

_"Come in." A voice called out from inside. "The door is open."_

_I looked at the door stupidly. It was closed._

_"No it isn't." Was he making fun of me? I nearly decided to blast the door, just to teach him._

_The door swung open. "Yes it is. See?" Schuldich smiled._

_"It is open now." I frowned. "Not before."_

_He laughed. "You're such a literal minded person, little Nagi!"_

_I understood at that moment he had meant his door was unlocked, rather than open._

_I felt like a fool. And for the first time in my life it made me stronger._

_I straightened my back and lifted my head._

_"I am not little. I'm here to have a serious conversation with you, if such a thing is possible."_

_He stepped aside. "Do come in. I talk more comfortably when sitting."_

_So I did._

That was the start. I'm still amazed at how fast things moved from there. I have often wondered if Crawford knew somehow, if he set us up. It would be a small, forgiveable deception on his part.

_//all through the night,//_

_"Is it all right with you if I sleep in Schuldich's room tonight?" I asked._

_It felt odd to ask something like that over breakfast, but really, it was the only opportunity I would have that day. I had insisted on asking, even though Schuldich had protested._

_He had said it was none of Crawford's business where I slept, that I could do as I pleased._

_I had replied it felt wrong to sneak around his back, that he had a right to know._

_So now I had asked. What I would have done if he had said 'no' ? I have no idea._

_"If you want to." he replied. "Are you sure you do?"_

_"Yes, I think so." I nodded._

_"I am glad to hear. Don't do anything you're not comfortable with." _

_He rose and left._

Looking back, I often wonder why Crawford has never taken a lover. He somehow seems the type for it, much more than Schuldich. Or me.

_//and the sound of your laughter//_

_"Hey, Nagi! Want to go for a walk in the park?"_

_I hesitated. "I have work to do."_

_"For Schwarz or for school?" he inquired._

_"For school."_

_"Well then."_

_He bought me icecream and it was delicious. Strawberry. _

_I had never thought I could feel this way. _

I would think memories only come back if the good things are over. It's not true in this case. 

I remember nearly every day I spent with Schuldich and we're still together. Still happily in love.

_//as I held you tight,// _

_"Nagi ... are you there?"_

_A bloody hand sought mine. I grasped it, pressing it to my lips._

_"Yes, I'm here, Schuldich. Don't waste your breath talking."_

_"Not a single word I say to you is wasted."_

_"Someone gives me a bag, please, I'm going to be sick." Farfarello remarked, looking annoyed._

_Schuldich has told me that, secretly, Farfarello is very glad to see the two of us together._

_A hand on my shoulder. Friendly brown eyes look down on me._

_"Don't worry, Nagi. He'll be fine."_

_I nodded. Crawford never lied to me._

_//seems so long ago.// _

Someone knocks on my door. I get up to open it. I'm not too lazy to do a thing like that ... yet.

Crawford stands in front of me, holding out my jacket.

"Schuldich and Farfarello are in trouble. We must go and get them."

~tbc~


	4. Crawford

Land of confusion

__

Crawford

Warnings/notes : Schuldich x Nagi, Crawford pov

Disclaimer : I don't own Weiss Kreuz. The song 'Land of confusion' belongs to Genesis. Lyrics slightly altered. 

written at 8th april 2003, by Misura

part 4 of 5 (next part will be other pov, ongoing plot)

__

normal italics indicate flashbacks

This chapter sort of connects Nagi's and Farfarello/Schuldich's part of the story.

**********

Schuldich is one the most annoying persons I know. He never obeys orders. I don't know why I even try to give them to him ; it's not like they're any use.

Once, I thought I had figured it out ; I would order him the opposite of what he was supposed to do so he would do exactly what I actually wanted. It sounds logical, doesn't it?

Well, it didn't work. Maybe I'm a bad liar. 

__

//I won't be coming home tonight.

It's up to us to put it right.//

I don't like lies. There's a thin line between deceiving a person and downright lying to him and I always am very careful in not crossing it.

Schuldich has not promised me he wouldn't be going after the man whose face he saw in Nagi's memory. I told him it would be foolish to try for him without a proper preparation.

He agreed with me ; it would be very risky. Not smart at all to do.

__

"Only a fool would do something like that." the redhaired telepath nodded. 

__

"Are you?" I tried to look at him sternly. Lately though, it was tough to be hard on Schuldich. This blooming romance between him and Nagi had made me go soft I supposed.

"I'm a lovestruck fool" he sang/said to me. "You know that."

"Schuldich!"

He laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not suicidal. I have too much to live for."

I should have pressed the subject. Now Nagi and me are going to have to race over there and save his and Farfarello's hide before the other visitors get there.

Sighing, I knock at the door to Nagi's room.

//We're not just making promises

that we know we'll never keep.//

It takes him some time to open the door. I wonder what he was doing, but I'm not asking. Unlike Schuldich, I respect people's privacy. I trust Nagi not to waste his time.

I hold out his jacket, which he accepts with a questioning look.

"Schuldich and Farfarello are in trouble. We must go and get them." I tell him.

He nods, practically running down the stairs and to my car. He doesn't ask anything else until we are on our way. I concentrate on driving, but part of my mind is free for conversation.

"Will we be in time?"

"I don't know. The odds are good."

He sighs. Maybe he had preferred me to tell him that of course, we would be in time and of course, we would find both Schuldich and Farfarello in good health.

"Did I ever thank you for never lying to me?" he asks.

The question surprises me. "No, I believe not."

"In that case : thank you. I appreciate it. A lot of people would just have told me everything was going to be fine, to make me feel better and keep me from worrying."

"Such is not my style." I reply.

"I know." 

The remainder of the ride we keep silent. From time to time I check my watch.

//Too many men, too many people

making too many problems,//

We have about five minutes left when we reach our destination. At least Schuldich and Farfarello have both made it outside, uninjured at first sight. I get out and start walking towards them.

I hear Nagi behind me. Good. In the worst-case-scenario we are going to need him.

"Are you all right? We have to get out of here! There are other people coming." Nagi calls out, standing still. He does not understand why I didn't stay in the car, letting them come to us.

My reason appears three seconds later, on a roof nearby with a sniper-rifle. He is dead before he can even take aim. Schuldich blinks and finally seems to see the seriousness of the situation.

As I turn back to the car, he's already there, having dragged Farfarello with him somehow.

"Let's get out of here. I'll pick up my own car later. It's parked too far away to do it now."

I nod. With about ninety seconds on the clock we speed out of there. Nice. 

"You promised me something, Schu." Farfarello says, after a while.

"Not now, Farf." Schuldich replies, sounding tired.

One eye narrows, then widens again. "All right. Later then."

//and not much love to go around.//

I get us all safely home, for which I thank whatever higher power watches over newfound lovers and general idiots. It might all have ended, simply because a certain redhaired hothead doesn't know the meaning of the word 'patience'.

"Can I have a word with you, Schuldich? In private?"

Farfarello looks annoyed. Ah yes, he wanted to know what Schuldich did to that man in there. And Schuldich wouldn't tell him in front of Nagi. A prudent decision.

"You can have a chat with him later. I'll send him by when I'm done with him." I assure Farfarello.

"Do that." he says nodding as I push Schuldich in the direction of my office. It's a good place to talk. And I feel comfortable in it, while to him, it's a bit of an unfamiliar place.

"I didn't promise anything." he says as soon as we're seated. "I didn't break my word."

"I'm not accusing you of such a thing." I reply calmly. "I merely want to tell you some things you obviously haven't noticed or considered, that's all."

"Like what?" he asks cautiously. He shifts in his chair. What does he think I can do to him?

What does he think I will do to him for his little stunt?

//Can't you see, this is a land of confusion ?//

"Like : well done, don't ever do something like tonight again."

"What?!"

I shake my head. I'm not going to repeat myself. And he heard me.

"Next time you will inform me and let Schwarz do the job, rather than two of its members. That's much better. I was trained to plan missions, unlike you. This time, you pulled it off, but that was mostly a matter of luck. And if it hadn't been for me, you'd quite likely be dead."

"Okay." He still seems dazed. Does he know me that bad?

"You give me your word?" This time I want certainty. I learn from my mistakes.

He nods. "I give you my word. No more missions without you knowing of it aforehand." He chuckles. "Aren't you supposed to know of it anyway? I mean : you're a precog."

"I doesn't work that way. Don't forget to drop by at Farfarello's."

"Ah yes." He pauses at the door. "Have you Seen what I'm going to tell him already?"

"I have indeed."

//This is the world we live in,

and these are the hands we're given.//

A short silence. "And? Do you approve?" he askes finally.

"It's a fitting punishment. There's a certain justice to it."

"Justice?" he spats out the word, like it's a curse. "I don't care about justice. Revenge, that's what it was all about. Making him suffer."

"You sound like Abyssinian."

He smiles. "Nah. He doesn't really understand revenge. He just wants to kill."

I shrug. I never cared much about the workings of Weiss' leader's mind. "If you say so."

"I do. And now I'm off for my talk with Farfarello. Have a pleasant evening."

I know I will. Everyone's at home now, safe and sound. I'm free to relax a little.

//Use them and let's start trying

to make it a place worth fighting for.//

I yawn as I walk to my bedroom. 

Tomorrow I'll worry about what to tell Takatori about tonight. 

Right now I only want sleep.

~tbc~


	5. Weiss

Land of confusion

__

White Hunters / Epilogue

Warnings/notes : Schuldich x Nagi, no specific pov, Weiss pops up.

Disclaimer : I don't own Weiss Kreuz. The song 'Land of confusion' belongs to Genesis. Lyrics slightly altered. 

written at 8th april 2003, by Misura

part 5 of 5 

First scene takes place a little before Schwarz leaves the building, second takes place the next morning. Songfragments indicates changes of scenery, stronger than in the previous chapters.

**********

"Why did it have to be this night? Just when I had planned a date!" Yohji complained, checking his equipment. His three companions threw eachother a suffering look.

"Are there any nights when you haven't planned a date, Yohji?" Ken asked.

"Of course not! I'm young, I look good, no great, and I'm nice. Every girl wants to date me. It wouldn't be very civil of me to turn them down now, would it?"

__

//This is a world we live in,//

"Kera Jimusho is a distributor of all kind of weapons to terrorist groups. He is an elusive person but from a reliable source we know he will visit a local crimelord this evening. This meeting will take place in a deserted building in the western quarter of Tokyo. It is highly likely there will be guards posted on the roofs for safety so you need to be careful.

White hunters, deny this dark beast his tomorrow!"

"This is a mission for all of you. If one of you doesn't want to do it, it's off. This will be dangerous." Manx stated, handing out some folders.

"We're in." Aya stated. "Jimusho's associated with Takatori. That's enough."

Yohji sighed sadly, earning a glare from Ken. "There goes my date. I knew it."

"You'll find another one soon enough, Yohji-kun." Omi remarked.

"Thank you, Omi. At least someone here cares about me."

//These are the names we're given.//

"Siberian, come in."

"This is Siberian for Bombay. There are all dead people around here. Looks like someone was here before us."

"This is Balinese for Bombay. I found just the same. No trace of the target yet though."

"Abyssinian, what about you?"

"There's a sniper on the roof here. He's shot, straight through the head."

"Bombay, I think I have found the target. He's lying in some sort of office. Someone cut his throat. Rather messily. Lots of blood. Not a pretty sight."

"Copy that, Balinese."

"I've found something odd. One man seems to have crawled away from the others. His body shows no sign from knife-cuts or any other physical damage. But he's just as dead."

"This place gives me the creeps. The target's dead, who cares who did our job? Let's go home!"

"Bombay to all : I agree with Balinese. Mission ended succesfully."

//Stand up and let's start showing//

Crawford contentedly sipped his morningcoffee as he watched the news. Schuldich walked in, looking even more wasted than usual and poured himself some coffee too.

"This morning, the police discovered the body of Kera Jimusho, a respected politician and businessman in a deserted building in the west of Tokyo. What he was doing there is still unclear but the police considers the possibility of a kidnapping-gone-wrong. Many people depended on Jimusho-san for their employment and his living relatives have promised everyone will be cared for. His wife declared not to want to give any interview."

A picture of the victim had appeared on the screen.

"Hey, I know that face!" Schuldich exclaimed. "Farfarello killed him last night, after having some fun with him. Who'd have thought he'd be such a big shot?"

The phone started to ring. Crawford sighed. He knew who that was.

"What does it matter?" he remarked, picking up the phone.

"Takatori-san, what can I do for you today?"

A panicked voice at the other end of the line started to tell him exactly that.

//Just where our lives are going to?// 

"We consider it highly likely Jimusho-san was targeted by the group of assassins known as Weiss." Crawford stated. "We are on their trail, but they are very good in hiding their tracks."

"I want you to kill them! As soon as possible! I don't care what it takes."

"We will do our best."

__

We will do what's best for us, not what's best for you. You're not Schwarz.

"I count on you, Crawford."

"Good day to you too, sir."

He put down the horn.

"I can't believe you actually lied to him." Schuldich said, setting his teeth into an apple as a kind of breakfast. Crawford supposed it was better than nothing at all. Nagi's influence showed.

"I didn't tell him anything that was untrue. Weiss *had* targeted Jimusho. And we *are* very near finding out who they are in normal life."

Schuldich looked thoughtful. "You mean it was Weiss that we ran away for? That bunch of losers? I am embarrassed!"

"At least you're still alive and in one piece. I already told you : if any member of Weiss dies at this point in time, it will be disastrous for all of us. Schwarz would perish. And no, I still don't know why our fates are tied with theirs. I just know that they are."

"I don't doubt you for a moment."

"And yes, it would be a marvellous idea to take Nagi to that amusementpark today. The weather will be sunny all day."

Schuldich chuckled. "Crawford, what on earth should we do without you? You're incredible! Thanks for the tip, though. Sure you don't want to come?"

"Absolutely. Have fun."

"We will. I love him."

"I know."

~OWARI~

Endnote : In case you were wondering what it was that Schuldich did to his victim, he put the memories Nagi had in his head and pressed the 'Replay'-button. 


End file.
